Monday morning March 11
Image: Unsplash
Opening response
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
Hear my voice, O LORD, according to your loving devotion;
give me life according to your justice.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, God of compassion and mercy,
to you be praise and glory forever.
In the darkness of our sin,
your light breaks forth like the dawn
and your healing springs up for deliverance.
As we rejoice in the gift of your saving help,
sustain us with your bountiful Spirit
and open our lips to sing your praise.
Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.
The night has passed, and the day lies open before us;
let us pray with one heart and mind.
Silence is kept.
As we rejoice in the gift of this new day,
so may the light of your presence, O God,
set our hearts on fire with love for you;
now and forever.
Amen.
Hymn
Inspirer of the ancient seers
Charles Wesley
Inspirer of the ancient seers
Who wrote from thee the sacred page,
The same through all succeeding years;
To us, in our degenerate age,
The spirit of thy word impart,
And breathe the life into our heart.
While now thine oracles we read
With earnest prayer and strong desire,
O let thy Spirit from thee proceed,
Our souls to awaken and inspire,
Our weakness help, our darkness chase,
And guide us by the light of grace.
Whenever in error’s path we rove,
The living God through sin forsake,
Our conscience by thy word reprove,
Convince and bring the wanderers back,
Deep wounded by thy Spirit’s sword,
And then by Gilead’s balm restored.
The sacred lessons of thy grace,
Transmitted through thy word, repeat,
And train us up in all thy ways
To make us in thy will complete;
Fulfill thy love’s redeeming plan,
And bring us to a perfect man.
Thus furnished from thy treasury,
O may we always ready stand
To help the souls redeemed by thee,
In what their various states demand
To teach, convince, correct, reprove,
And build them up in holiest love!
Confession of sin
Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
Let the wicked forsake their own ways
and the unrighteous their own thoughts.
Let them return to the LORD so that he may have compassion,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
cf Isaiah 55
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
Lord God,
we have sinned against you;
we have done what is evil in your sight.
We are sorry and repent.
Have mercy on us according to your loving devotion.
Wash us clean of our iniquity and cleanse us from our sin.
Renew a right spirit within us,
and restore to us the joy of your salvation
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
cf Psalm 51
May the Father of all mercies
cleanse us from our sins,
and restore us in his image
to the praise and glory of his name,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Bless be the LORD,
for he has heard our cry for mercy.
Therefore our hearts rejoice
and we give thanks to him with our song.
cf Psalm 28:7, 9
Psalm 70
𝙍: Hurry to me, O God.
Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Hurry, O LORD, to help me!
May those who seek my life
be ashamed and confounded;
may those who wish me harm
be repelled and humiliated.
May those who say, “Aha, aha!”
retreat because of their shame. 𝙍
May all who seek You
rejoice and be glad in You;
may those who love Your salvation always say,
“Let God be magnified!”
But I am poor and needy;
hurry to me, O God.
You are my help and my deliverer;
O LORD, do not delay.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.
𝙍: Hurry to me, O God.
Psalm prayer
God, our helper and defender,
deliver us in our weakness,
answer our longings
and vindicate our faith,
that we may see your glory
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 77
𝙍: In the day of trouble I sought the Lord.
I cried out to God;
I cried aloud to God to hear me.
In the day of trouble I sought the Lord;
through the night my outstretched hands did not grow weary;
my soul refused to be comforted.
I remembered You, O God, and I groaned;
I mused and my spirit grew faint.
You have kept my eyes from closing;
I am too troubled to speak. 𝙍
I considered the days of old,
the years long in the past.
At night I remembered my song;
in my heart I mused, and my spirit pondered:
“Will the Lord spurn us forever
and never show His favor again?
Is His loving devotion gone forever?
Has His promise failed for all time?
Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has His anger shut off His compassion?”
So I said, “I am grieved
that the right hand of the Most High has changed.” 𝙍
I will remember the works of the LORD;
yes, I will remember Your wonders of old.
I will reflect on all You have done
and ponder Your mighty deeds.
Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is so great as our God?
You are the God who works wonders;
You display Your strength among the peoples.
With power You redeemed Your people,
the sons of Jacob and Joseph. 𝙍
The waters saw You, O God;
the waters saw You and swirled;
even the depths were shaken.
The clouds poured down water;
the skies resounded with thunder;
Your arrows flashed back and forth.
Your thunder resounded in the whirlwind;
the lightning lit up the world;
the earth trembled and quaked.
Your path led through the sea,
Your way through the mighty waters,
but Your footprints were not to be found.
You led Your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.
𝙍: In the day of trouble I sought the Lord.
Psalm prayer
God our shepherd,
you led us and saved us in times of old;
do not forget your people in their troubles,
but raise up your power
to sustain the poor and helpless;
for the honor of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Exodus 2:11-22
One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to his own people and observed their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. After looking this way and that and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand.
The next day Moses went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you attacking your companion?”
But the man replied, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you planning to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?”
Then Moses was afraid and thought, “This thing I have done has surely become known.”
When Pharaoh heard about this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, where he sat down beside a well.
Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father’s flock. And when some shepherds came along and drove them away, Moses rose up to help them and watered their flock.
When the daughters returned to their father Reuel, he asked them, “Why have you returned so early today?”
“An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds,” they replied. “He even drew water for us and watered the flock.”
“So where is he?” their father asked. “Why did you leave the man behind? Invite him to have something to eat.”
Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage. And she gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land.”
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Hebrews 9:1-14
Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. A tabernacle was prepared. In its first room were the lampstand, the table, and the consecrated bread. This was called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, containing the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. Inside the ark were the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. Above the ark were the cherubim of glory, overshadowing the mercy seat. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.
When everything had been prepared in this way, the priests entered regularly into the first room to perform their sacred duties. But only the high priest entered the second room, and then only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.
By this arrangement the Holy Spirit was showing that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still standing. It is an illustration for the present time, because the gifts and sacrifices being offered were unable to cleanse the conscience of the worshiper. They consist only in food and drink and special washings—external regulations imposed until the time of reform.
But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come, He went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made by hands and is not a part of this creation. He did not enter by the blood of goats and calves, but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, thus securing eternal redemption.
For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that their bodies are clean, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, purify our consciences from works of death, so that we may serve the living God!
Silence may be kept.
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)
Luke 1:68-79
𝙍: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
because He has visited and redeemed His people.
He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of His servant David,
as He spoke through His holy prophets,
those of ages past,
salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us,
to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember His holy covenant,
the oath He swore to our father Abraham,
to grant us deliverance from hostile hands,
that we may serve Him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before Him
all the days of our lives.
And you, child, will be called
a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord
to prepare the way for Him,
to give to His people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the Dawn will visit us from on high,
to shine on those who live in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet
into the path of peace.”
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.
𝙍: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Brief silence.
The Apostle’s Creed
Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Intercession and thanksgiving
Prayers may be offered for:
the day and its tasks
the world and its needs
the church and her life
Prayers may include the following concerns:
Those preparing for baptism and confirmation
Those serving through leadership
Those looking for forgiveness
Those misled by the false gods of this present age
All who are hungry
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.
Response
Father, hear our prayer,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Merciful Lord,
absolve your people from their offenses,
that through your bountiful goodness
we may all be delivered from the chains of those sins
which by our frailty we have committed;
grant this, heavenly Father,
for Jesus Christ's sake, our blessed Lord and Savior,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Trusting in the compassion of God, as our Savior taught us, so we pray
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and forever.
Amen.
Conclusion
May God our Redeemer show us compassion and love.
Amen.
Sunday morning March 10
Monday morning
Saturday morning
Image: Unsplash
Opening response
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
Hear my voice, O LORD, according to your loving devotion;
give me life according to your justice.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, God of compassion and mercy,
to you be praise and glory forever.
In the darkness of our sin,
your light breaks forth like the dawn
and your healing springs up for deliverance.
As we rejoice in the gift of your saving help,
sustain us with your bountiful Spirit
and open our lips to sing your praise.
Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.
The night has passed, and the day lies open before us;
let us pray with one heart and mind.
Silence is kept.
As we rejoice in the gift of this new day,
so may the light of your presence, O God,
set our hearts on fire with love for you;
now and forever.
Amen.
Hymn
Angels Your March Oppose
Charles Wesley
Angels your march oppose,
Who still in strength excel,
Your secret, sworn, eternal foes,
Countless, invisible.
With rage that never ends
Their hellish arts they try;
Legions of dire malicious fiends,
And spirits enthroned on high.
From thrones of glory driven
By flaming vengeance hurled
They throng the air, and darken heaven,
And rule this lower world.
But shall believers fear?
But shall believers fly?
Or see the bloody cross appear,
And all their power defy?
Jesus’ tremendous name
Puts all our foes to flight:
Jesus, the meek, the angry Lamb,
A Lion is in fight.
By all hell’s host withstood,
We all hell’s host overthrow;
And conquering them, through Jesus’ blood,
We still to conquer go.
Our Captain leads us on;
He beckons from the skies,
And reaches out a starry crown,
And bids us take the prize:
“Be faithful unto death;
Partake my victory;
And thou shalt wear this glorious wreath.
And thou shalt reign with me.”
Confession of sin
Let us admit to God the sin which always confronts us.
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
Almighty God,
patient and of great goodness:
I confess to you,
I confess with my whole heart
my neglect and forgetfulness of your commandments,
my wrong doing, thinking, and speaking;
the hurts I have done to others,
and the good I have left undone.
O God, forgive me, for I have sinned against you;
and raise me to newness of life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
May the God of love and power
forgive us and free us from our sins,
heal and strengthen us by his Spirit,
and raise us to new life in Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Psalm 27
𝙍: The LORD is my light and my salvation.
The LORD is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
whom shall I dread?
When the wicked came upon me to devour my flesh,
my enemies and foes stumbled and fell.
Though an army encamps around me,
my heart will not fear;
though a war breaks out against me,
I will keep my trust.
One thing I have asked of the LORD;
this is what I desire:
to dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the LORD
and seek Him in His temple.
For in the day of trouble
He will hide me in His shelter;
He will conceal me under the cover of His tent;
He will set me high upon a rock.
Then my head will be held high
above my enemies around me.
At His tabernacle I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the LORD. 𝙍
Hear, O LORD, my voice when I call;
be merciful and answer me.
My heart said, “Seek His face.”
Your face, O LORD, I will seek.
Hide not Your face from me,
nor turn away Your servant in anger.
You have been my helper;
do not leave me or forsake me,
O God of my salvation.
Though my father and mother forsake me,
the LORD will receive me.
Teach me Your way, O LORD,
and lead me on a level path,
because of my oppressors.
Do not hand me over to the will of my foes,
for false witnesses rise up against me,
breathing out violence.
Still I am certain to see
the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait patiently for the LORD;
be strong and courageous.
Wait patiently for the LORD!
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.
𝙍: The LORD is my light and my salvation.
Psalm prayer
God, our light and our salvation,
illuminate our lives,
that we may see your goodness in the land of the living,
and, looking on your beauty,
may be changed into the likeness of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
1 Samuel 16:1-13
Now the LORD said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have selected from his sons a king for Myself.”
“How can I go?” Samuel asked. “Saul will hear of it and kill me!”
The LORD answered, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’ Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you are to do. You are to anoint for Me the one I indicate.”
So Samuel did what the LORD had said and went to Bethlehem. When the elders of the town met him, they trembled and asked, “Do you come in peace?”
“In peace,” he replied. “I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.”
Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and said, “Surely here before the LORD is His anointed.”
But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or height, for I have rejected him; the LORD does not see as man does. For man sees the outward appearance, but the LORD sees the heart.”
Then Jesse called Abinadab and presented him to Samuel, who said, “The LORD has not chosen this one either.”
Next Jesse presented Shammah, but Samuel said, “The LORD has not chosen this one either.”
Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel told him, “The LORD has not chosen any of these.”
And Samuel asked him, “Are these all the sons you have?”
“There is still the youngest,” Jesse replied, “but he is tending the sheep.”
“Send for him,” Samuel replied. “For we will not sit down to eat until he arrives.”
So Jesse sent for his youngest son and brought him in. He was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him, for he is the one.”
So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and went to Ramah.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
John 9:1-25
Now as Jesus was passing by, He saw a man blind from birth, and His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God would be displayed in him. While it is daytime, we must do the works of Him who sent Me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
When Jesus had said this, He spit on the ground, made some mud, and applied it to the man’s eyes. Then He told him, “Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam” (which means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came back seeing.
At this, his neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging began to ask, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?”
Some claimed that he was, but others said, “No, he just looks like him.”
But the man kept saying, “I am the one.”
“How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.
He answered, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and anointed my eyes, and He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed and received my sight.”
“Where is He?” they asked.
“I do not know,” he answered.
They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened his eyes was a Sabbath. So the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight.
The man answered, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.”
Because of this, some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for He does not keep the Sabbath.”
But others said, “How can a sinful man perform such signs?”
And there was division among them. So once again they asked the man who had been blind, “What do you say about Him, since it was your eyes He opened?”
“He is a prophet,” the man replied.
The Jews still did not believe that the man had been blind and had received his sight until they summoned his parents and asked, “Is this your son, the one you say was born blind? So how is it that he can now see?”
His parents answered, “We know he is our son, and we know he was born blind. But how he can now see or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself.”
His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews. For the Jews had already determined that anyone who confessed Jesus as the Christ would be put out of the synagogue. That was why his parents said, “He is old enough. Ask him.”
So a second time they called for the man who had been blind and said, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.”
He answered, “Whether He is a sinner I do not know. There is one thing I do know: I was blind, but now I see!”
Silence may be kept.
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)
Luke 1:68-79
𝙍: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
because He has visited and redeemed His people.
He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of His servant David,
as He spoke through His holy prophets,
those of ages past,
salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us,
to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember His holy covenant,
the oath He swore to our father Abraham,
to grant us deliverance from hostile hands,
that we may serve Him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before Him
all the days of our lives.
And you, child, will be called
a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord
to prepare the way for Him,
to give to His people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the Dawn will visit us from on high,
to shine on those who live in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet
into the path of peace.”
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.
𝙍: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Brief silence.
The Apostle’s Creed
Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Intercession and thanksgiving
Prayers may be offered for:
the day and its tasks
the world and its needs
the church and her life
Prayers may include the following concerns:
Those preparing for baptism and confirmation
Those serving through leadership
Those looking for forgiveness
Those misled by the false gods of this present age
All who are hungry
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.
Response
Loving God, we look to you.
Receive our prayer.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Merciful Lord,
absolve your people from their offenses,
that through your bountiful goodness
we may all be delivered from the chains of those sins
which by our frailty we have committed;
grant this, heavenly Father,
for Jesus Christ's sake, our blessed Lord and Savior,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Trusting in the compassion of God, as our Savior taught us, so we pray
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and forever.
Amen.
Conclusion
May God our Redeemer show us compassion and love.
Amen.
Saturday morning March 9
Image: Unsplash
Opening response
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
Hear my voice, O LORD, according to your loving devotion;
give me life according to your justice.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, God of compassion and mercy,
to you be praise and glory forever.
In the darkness of our sin,
your light breaks forth like the dawn
and your healing springs up for deliverance.
As we rejoice in the gift of your saving help,
sustain us with your bountiful Spirit
and open our lips to sing your praise.
Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.
The night has passed, and the day lies open before us;
let us pray with one heart and mind.
Silence is kept.
As we rejoice in the gift of this new day,
so may the light of your presence, O God,
set our hearts on fire with love for you;
now and forever.
Amen.
Hymn
Help, Gracious Lord, My Deep Distress
Charles Wesley
Help, gracious Lord, my deep distress
To thee with anguish I reveal,
Who every sickness, and disease
Dost still among thy people heal.
O wouldst thou undertake for me,
Exert thy healing art divine!
My complicated malady
Mocks every other help but thine.
A secret, slow, internal fire
Consumes my soul with lingering pains,
The restless fever of desire
Throughout my fallen nature reigns.
Jesus, this eagerness of praise,
This raging thirst of creature-good,
Allay with thy refreshing grace,
Extinguish with thy balmy blood.
See the poor patient at thy feet,
And now the gracious wonder show:
I long thy healing touch to meet,
I gasp thy pardoning love to know.
Now, Savior, now the fever chide,
The virtue of thy name exert,
The fierceness of desire and pride
Rebuke, and bid my sin depart.
Soon as thy hand the balm applies,
My dying soul from sin set free
With instantaneous health shall rise,
And gladly serve thy saints and thee;
The servant of thy church below,
With all who know their sins forgiven,
Pardoned I in thy peace shall go,
And walk, and run, and fly to heaven.
Confession of sin
Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.
Silence may be kept.
Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your name. Amen.
Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins
through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all
goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in
eternal life.
Amen.
Psalm 31
𝙍: Into Your hands I commit my spirit.
In You, O LORD, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
save me by Your righteousness.
Incline Your ear to me;
come quickly to my rescue.
Be my rock of refuge,
the stronghold of my deliverance.
For You are my rock and my fortress;
lead me and guide me for the sake of Your name.
You free me from the net laid out for me,
for You are my refuge.
Into Your hands I commit my spirit;
You have redeemed me, O LORD, God of truth. 𝙍
I hate those who cling to worthless idols,
but in the LORD I trust.
I will be glad and rejoice in Your loving devotion,
for You have seen my affliction;
You have known the anguish of my soul.
You have not delivered me to the enemy;
You have set my feet in the open. 𝙍
Be merciful to me, O LORD,
for I am in distress;
my eyes fail from sorrow,
my soul and body as well.
For my life is consumed with grief
and my years with groaning;
my iniquity has drained my strength,
and my bones are wasting away.
Among all my enemies I am a disgrace,
and among my neighbors even more.
I am dreaded by my friends—
they flee when they see me on the street.
I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind.
I am like a broken vessel.
For I hear the slander of many;
there is terror on every side.
They conspire against me
and plot to take my life. 𝙍
But I trust in You, O LORD;
I say, “You are my God.”
My times are in Your hands;
deliver me from my enemies
and from those who pursue me.
Make Your face shine on Your servant;
save me by Your loving devotion.
O LORD, let me not be ashamed,
for I have called on You.
Let the wicked be put to shame;
let them lie silent in Sheol.
May lying lips be silenced—
lips that speak with arrogance against the righteous,
full of pride and contempt. 𝙍
How great is Your goodness
which You have laid up for those who fear You,
which You have bestowed before the sons of men
on those who take refuge in You!
You hide them in the secret place of Your presence
from the schemes of men.
You conceal them in Your shelter
from accusing tongues.
Blessed be the LORD,
for He has shown me His loving devotion
in a city under siege.
In my alarm I said,
“I am cut off from Your sight!”
But You heard my plea for mercy
when I called to You for help. 𝙍
Love the LORD, all His saints.
The LORD preserves the faithful,
but fully repays the arrogant.
Be strong and courageous,
all you who hope in the LORD.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.
𝙍: Into Your hands I commit my spirit.
Psalm prayer
Lord Jesus Christ,
when scorn and shame besiege us
and hope is veiled in grief,
hold us in your wounded hands
and make your face shine on us again,
for you are our Lord and God.
Old Testament reading
Exodus 1:22-2:10
Then Pharaoh commanded all his people: “Every son born to the Hebrews you must throw into the Nile, but every daughter you may allow to live.”
Now a man of the house of Levi married a daughter of Levi, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him for three months.
But when she could no longer hide him, she got him a papyrus basket and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in the basket and set it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. And his sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.
Soon the daughter of Pharaoh went down to bathe in the Nile, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. And when she saw the basket among the reeds, she sent her maidservant to retrieve it. When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the little boy was crying. So she had compassion on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrew children.”
Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call one of the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?”
“Go ahead,” Pharaoh’s daughter told her. And the girl went and called the boy’s mother.
Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse him for me, and I will pay your wages.” So the woman took the boy and nursed him.
When the child had grown older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses and explained, “I drew him out of the water.”
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Hebrews 8
The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who ministers in the sanctuary and true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man. And since every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, it was necessary for this One also to have something to offer.
Now if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are already priests who offer gifts according to the law. The place where they serve is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”
Now, however, Jesus has received a much more excellent ministry, just as the covenant He mediates is better and is founded on better promises. For if that first covenant had been without fault, no place would have been sought for a second. But God found fault with the people and said:
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord,
when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah.
It will not be like the covenant
I made with their fathers
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of the land of Egypt,
because they did not abide by My covenant,
and I disregarded them,
declares the Lord.
For this is the covenant I will make
with the house of Israel
after those days,
declares the Lord.
I will put My laws in their minds
and inscribe them on their hearts.
And I will be their God,
and they will be My people.
No longer will each one teach his neighbor or his brother,
saying, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know Me,
from the least of them to the greatest.
For I will forgive their iniquities
and will remember their sins no more.”
By speaking of a new covenant, He has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.
Silence may be kept.
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)
Luke 1:68-79
𝙍: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
because He has visited and redeemed His people.
He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of His servant David,
as He spoke through His holy prophets,
those of ages past,
salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us,
to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember His holy covenant,
the oath He swore to our father Abraham,
to grant us deliverance from hostile hands,
that we may serve Him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before Him
all the days of our lives.
And you, child, will be called
a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord
to prepare the way for Him,
to give to His people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the Dawn will visit us from on high,
to shine on those who live in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet
into the path of peace.”
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.
𝙍: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Brief silence.
The Apostle’s Creed
Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Intercession and thanksgiving
Prayers may be offered for:
the day and its tasks
the world and its needs
the church and her life
Prayers may include the following concerns:
Those preparing for baptism and confirmation
Those serving through leadership
Those looking for forgiveness
Those misled by the false gods of this present age
All who are hungry
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.
Response
Lord of life
In your mercy, hear us.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Almighty God,
whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain,
and entered not into glory before he was crucified:
mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross,
may find it none other than the way of life and peace;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Trusting in the compassion of God, as our Savior taught us, so we pray
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and forever.
Amen.
Conclusion
May God our Redeemer show us compassion and love.
Amen.